Thirty-One
by Emerald-Latias
Summary: For the Tumblr fictober18 challenge - entries contain different characters based on a dialogue-based prompt. All drabbles are standalone pieces. Updates will be posted daily-ish.
1. Can you feel this?

**Author's Notes** _-_ I've been doing the fictober18 challenge on Tumblr so I'm just going to repost the drabbles here for posterity. I'm basically going with whatever idea I get for the piece of dialogue that serves as the prompt so they're all unrelated - you can read them out of order or even skip a few. Cheers!

* * *

 _"Can you feel this?"_

"…Sshelphie, jus' shtop."

The pint-sized brunette puffed her cheeks not too unlike a toddler who wasn't getting their way.

"C'moooon, half the fun of numbing agents is testing how weird things feel for science." she protested. "Do it for the science, Zell."

"Schhience, schmience. It'ssh snumb ash hell." the blond slurred some more. "Why r'you carrying ah feather annyway?"

"Oh that?" Selphie perked up with mild surprise, "I noticed that Squall often sneezes whenever he uses Phoenix Downs during battles and especially when we fought Ulti-Edea. Since there are talks of the Festival Budget being cut, I've started to stuff feathers in his office every time I have the chance since I figure that'll send the message to his lizard brain that the sneezing will stop once I get my way. I had a few leftover feathers in my pocket, so yeah - that's why I have them. Hey, why are you slowly backing away, Zell?"

"No reashon. None at awl."


	2. People like you have no imagination

_"People like you have no imagination."_

Squall wanted to roll his eyes until they were permanently stuck in his skull. While he could argue that he had plenty of imagination – he was well-versed in jumping to worst case scenarios – the inaccurate insult slung at him wasn't the point of contention at hand.

It was the fact that it was becoming plain to see that for all their past talking points about using words over violence, the Dobes were only interested in shutting down this conversation altogether before it even began.

And now it was taking a whole lot of imagination to respond with something remotely civil.

"…Listen, I know the last time Garden was here it invited enough trouble to FH." Squall curtly conceded. "But the reason why I'm asking for hired help is because I want to pre-emptively disable all three Gardens' flying mechanisms so no one can use them for fighting the way they did in the war. If anything, people like me have too much imagination."


	3. How can I trust you?

_"How can I trust you?"_

"You're asking the wrong question, Instructor." Seifer pointed out as he casually got up from her office chair. "You already trust me. You trust me for all the wrong reasons like a person going through the stages of grief takes forever to accept someone's six feet under a pile of dirt and they're not gonna pop right out of a pine box like some zombie."

Quistis folded her arms and took a step forward in spite of herself and the phantom pain of not having Save the Queen's handle to grip like a stress ball.

"And what question should should I be asking, pray tell?" she challenged.

"Ha. Not a fan of pop quizzes when the shoe is on the other foot, are you Instructor?"

" _Seifer_." The only thing more pointed than the solitary word was her piercing gaze. "Cut to the chase. I don't have all day to spare for your dramatics. And stop calling me Instructor - you may be stuck in the past, but I'm not."

With a shrug, he did as he was told, much to Quistis's surprise.

"' _How can you trust me?'_ is what you should be asking." he began to explain, "You said it yourself - I'm stuck in the past and you're not. And yet everything about this little scenario betrays that at every turn. I may be the devil you know, but I sure as hell can't say the same about you. Mind telling me what's really going on?"

She might have been at the foot of the door but Quistis felt like she was the one backed into a corner.


	4. Will that be all?

"…Will that be all?"

"Yuuup!"

Quistis and Rinoa gave each other knowing looks in solidarity after witnessing the horrific spectacle that went down in front of them moments ago. It wasn't surprising that Selphie had completely missed the _'I am 10000% done with your shit but I can't say anything because the-customer-is-always-right culture will get me fired if I do'_ tone from the barista - it was par for the course even.

Although they were currently in solidarity with one another, Quistis wasn't sure if Rinoa felt just as embarrassed as she was that their friend took upwards of 10 minutes more-or-less calling the employee a 'secret menu' denier while simultaneously refusing to give specifics on what kind of coffee she actually wanted so he could help figure out what they could offer. The only silver lining was that no one was currently behind them in line since it was later at night though an hour off from closing time.

Drunk Selphie was a force of nature that could not be tamed. This much was evident when even Rinoa failed to get any vital clues even with borderline Siren-like powers of persuasion.

Quistis held back a sigh threatening to emerge. This whole thing would have been avoided had she not let them talk her into a girls' night out for her birthday.

When the brunette sauntered away to the pick up area at the other end of the counter, the sorceress took out her blush pink wallet from her purse.

"I'm paying, birthday girl." she told her. "What would you like?"

The sigh finally escaped. "I'd like to crawl in a hole if that's an option."

"No, but I can leave a super-big tip on your behalf on top of our coffee orders if you want."

"I'd much appreciate that. Not sure on what to order though."

"Well, I'm getting a Pumpkin Spice Latte because 'tis the season. You want to try one too?"

"Sure."

Truth be told, Quistis had never had one before simply out of reverse peer pressure – she'd done enough of what was expected of her as is, never mind adding seasonal beverages to the mix – but in the wake of Selphie's temper tantrum, perhaps she'd allow herself the small luxury of caving in and seeing what the hubbub was all about.

It was her birthday after all.


	5. Take what you need

"Take what you need." Rinoa offered. "I can show you where all the clothes are."

Squall stared at her blankly. It was a foreign question he could not translate into a sensible interpretation in his head.

"…I don't exactly feel comfortable using Zone or Watts's clothes while they aren't around to give permission." he told her. "It's not a problem to spend five minutes to pick up some clothes at the store down the street."

And it was true. What he forgot to pack wasn't anything that couldn't be replaced at a store inexpensively - he certainly wasn't hurting for cash since he pretty much collected money for sport at this point.

But when Rinoa blinked hard, he found himself replaying the words in his head and excavated all the faults where he might have gone wrong. .

"Oh! I guess I should have clarified." she said with a sheepish grin. "I…um, bought some clothes, pjs and made up a toiletry bag for you a little while ago. For just in case. Cases like these, in fact. They're all in darker colours. I hope they're not too far off from your style."

He nearly blinked like she had.

"Should be fine." he said after a slight pause. "Curious about the dark toothpaste though."

The sheepish grin turned into a level look in a blink of an eye. "You totally knew what I meant."

"I might have." he said before pausing for a moment to collect his thoughts. " Jokes aside…thank you for thinking of me. I'm not used to that."

The level look turned into a grin-grin.

"Any time."


	6. I heard enough, this ends now

_"I heard enough, this ends now."_ Squall murmured under his breath.

While he wasn't one to meddle in the affairs of others that did not concern or affect him, it was quite another in an instance like this.

He practically teleported over to the table where Zell and Rinoa were currently squabbling loudly with two messy piles of cards in between them. As he loomed over them, they turned their heads towards him.

"We were being a bit too loud, weren't we?" Rinoa ventured.

Squall folded his arms. "Loud is not the issue. Your complete lack of understanding of Triple Triad rules is."

Rinoa turned to Zell with her face breaking out in an ear-to-ear smile. "Pay up Dincht."

Zell let out a long groan as he reached into his jeans' pocket and handed her some gil. "Ugh. I should have known better than to bet against you."

Squall furrowed his brows. "You…bet on me?"

"We did but it was totally Rin's idea for the record." Zell admitted. "She bet that you'd be more annoyed with us butchering the rules. I bet on the noise."

"You're both wrong then." Squall reached over to grab the gil from Rinoa's grasp and pocketed it. "I'm annoyed that you played me like a fiddle for this stupid bet."

Strangely enough, she didn't fight him on it. In fact, she started to laugh.

"You know, I somehow knew that'd be your reaction so I'm not even mad. Buy yourself something nice."


	7. No worries, we still have time

"No worries, we still have time."

"LIES." Fujin barked.

Despite Raijin's wishful thinking, there was no way they were going to make it to the convenience store before it closed.

She'd done this particular walk enough times to know it took at least twenty minutes from their end of the docks to the store. And that was assuming no one decided to feel brave enough to start chatting with her and waste even more time. FH was filled with too many nosy people trying to pry into her business under the pretense of pretending to be friendly.

Needless to say, it was beyond irritating to not be able to kick a few shins to get away from the leeches without the risk of completely jeopardizing their new low-key life here.

"Fu, you know that I don't mind the one-word answers, but you gotta get in the habit of sayin' things in sentences all the time, ya know? Seifer worked real hard to get you your glass eye - we gotta show these people we belong, ok?"

Though he didn't mean it in that way, the words stung. Stung more than when her throat bled whenever she'd string a full sentence together because her ability to talk seemed like it was permanently atrophied from the incident that took her eye and damaged her face and neck.

"We…do belong. To hell with the others, Raijin."

"Couldn't have said it better Fu." he said with a grin. "Race me to the store?"

"Only if you want to eat my dust."

"Wouldn't have it any other way, ya know?"


	8. I know you do

"I know you do."

"But I didn't."

"Yes, you _do._ "

As he was subjected to Selphie and Irvine bickering back and forth, Squall wanted to walk away from this stupid game the former dragged him into.

It was like a Trabian version of 'never have I ever' called 'I know you do.' Only the goal of person calling out the actions was to last as many rounds as possible and those who hadn't done something were the ones who took a drink. The caveat was that while there had to be at least one person who'd done the called out action to win a round, anyone who'd done something would be excluded from next round's question - so if everyone had done something, it was an automatic loss.

These Trabian variants had indirectly led to two things -

Firstly, it fed into Selphie's competitive streak so she often asked oddly-specific questions that would eliminate only 1 person per round in a bid to break her personal records.

Secondly, Squall found himself taking a whole lotta swigs of alcohol because she in particular never asked about things in his wheelhouse. By coincidence or design, he was unsure. At this point, he was finishing bottles and discretely swapping them out.

"Ugh, fine. I guess my streak is over. Looks like I won't be beating my PR." Selphie begrudgingly lamented before setting her eyes directly at him. "Ok, Squall your turn."

As Selphie plunked herself down on the floor, the gang all looked at him expectantly.

This needed to be over fast. But he couldn't be too obvious about it or else they'd razz him and prolong the suffering. Think…think…

"Has anyone…" Something that sounded logical coming from him. "…not woken up in an unfamiliar place?"

"Whoa, wouldn't have expected that kind of question coming from you, Squall." Irvine commented slyly before he took a sip of his beer. No one else followed suit.

In spite of his better judgement, Squall pointed in the cowboy's direction. "…Stop inferring whatever innuendo you're inferring. I didn't mean it that way."

"But what's the fun in that?" he prodded as he scooted backwards from the misshapen circle, "Sometimes you gotta ask the burning questions while you're bombed enough to blame it on the alcohol."

"…Not sure how that's relevant."

"The fact that there's a bunch of empties neatly stacked on the table behind your back tells me otherwise." Irvine contested. "That and the fact you actually pointed at me. Sober Squall's not really a pointer."

"Irvy, let Squall be possibly drunk Squall in peace." Selphie pleaded. "This game won't be as fun if we have less people playing."

To his surprise, the cowboy backed off on the inquisition and Squall found himself a little less tense and a little more at ease with the fact his head was swimming in the presence of other people. While some lingering anxiety was there, and probably would always be there no matter what he did, he was not as paralyzed at the prospect of being judged.

And so, since he wasn't angling to beat Selphie's record, he decided to ask a question he'd wanted to know for awhile now while his inhibitions were temporarily lowered.

"Did anyone else not find the old Garden Faculty's hats weird?"

One by one, they all quietly took their respective sips and it became an automatic next round loss.


	9. You shouldn't have come here

"You shouldn't have come here." he told her.

"I'm an adult, I think I can handle it."

Admittedly, Rinoa knew that on some level her retort was more on principle than anything else. For all that could be said about his protective nature, Squall wasn't one to protect her for the sake of being a shield - he respected her agency and didn't patronize her in the slightest. While she hadn't quite figured out if it owed to being keenly aware that she had the ability to fry people to a crisp at will with her sorceress powers or that she was a contrarian at heart and often did things simply because someone said not to, she was thankful nonetheless.

But in times like these, it made his warnings carry a little extra weight.

"I can't stop you but…from the looks of things, it's seen better days even when you factor out the wreckage from last week." he warned her. "If you have good memories of this place, it might taint them."

The truth was she'd only seen place through tabloid photographs of when her parents had just become an item and her mother's song gained traction on the charts. Her mother had long left the bar scene once she married That Man.

She'd always meant to visit the Galbadia Hotel to see the bar where her mother played in person since she became of age but the prospect of being a little too late by a matter of days felt unnecessarily cruel.

"I don't have any memories but…I have a feeling you're probably right. No use barging in on a crime scene even if it's just a case of petty vandalism." she lamented. "Maybe they'll rebuild the bar once the police investigation is done."

"Maybe." he echoed. "If they don't, I could ask Ellone to transport you to the lounge in the past if you wanted to see it for yourself. It wouldn't be ideal but, it could work."

"I'd like that, actually." Rinoa told him. "But I have to ask, though. Didn't you tell me once that Ellone could only transport people she knew in the present to view the past from the eyes of someone she knew back then?"

"I did."

"Ok. So since I know you don't make promises you can't keep and process of elimination tells me that you'd seen my mom through either Laguna, Ward or Kiros's eyes...how weird will it get if I take you up on that offer?"

"Weird enough. In short, Laguna was a super-fan of your mom. Thought she was pretty and chatted her ear off until he fell asleep. Your mom was gracious about it all." he explained. "In hindsight, that and his other escapades made me question 50% of my DNA."

"Not going to lie, that's kind of adorable in its own way. The super-fan part, not the denying DNA part, I mean. I understand that feeling unfortunately." she admitted. "At any rate, thank you for offering all the same. It…means a lot to me. You've no idea."


	10. You think this troubles me?

"You think this troubles me?"

"I don't think, I _know_ it does, Q." Xu asserted, plopping down some grocery bags on the coffee table before nabbing a seat on the couch. "It's why I came here with a metric fuck ton of booze and chips."

Quistis let out a long sigh as she sat by her friend. "I appreciate the gesture, I really do but..I wish you'd believe me when I said I moved on a long time ago. It was a silly little crush that would have never worked out anyway. That's all."

"I do believe you on that part though. Everyone gets stupid little crushes that make you go _'why, brain, why?_ ' from time to time. Even I'm not immune to them which is kind of infuriating, really." Xu began to explain before pointing at her head. "The part I'm worried about is the measuring stick in your brain that's probably telling you that you're coming up short for completely arbitrary reasons."

"I'm not sure…"

"–Relationships, marriages and babies are the demons you must to slay to obtain true nirvana." she said, plucking out the chips from the plastic bag. "Someone else's chance meeting or boning does not take away from your worth."

Quistis raised a brow. "…Xu,I'm lost. And possibly too sober for this conversation."

Her friend shot her a knowing look as she popped open the bag and offered its opened contents for her to take from. After Quistis took a few chips, she set the bag between them after taking one herself between her thumb and forefinger.

"Interpersonal relationships aren't much of an accomplishment when a lot of it boils down to luck." she explained, gesturing with the chip. "And I know what you're thinking, _'why is Xu laying on the sermon thick for something I didn't even say?'_ Well, I'm laying it on thick because I know you think in _'what's expected of Quistis Trepe'_ rather than _'what Quistis Trepe wants.'_ And as a friend, I've noticed you've been holing yourself up in your dorm a little more during down time even if you haven't. I'm terrible at pep talks but I figured I'd try to appeal to you with some logic and junk food."

Quistis was tempted to pop a few chips in her mouth to stall but it was likely moot point. Xu was a master interrogator in her day job, after all.

"You're…not wrong." she admitted. "I honestly don't even know what I want and yet I occasionally find myself in these imaginary rat races. I think you were onto something with the, _'why, brain, why?_ '"

"Amen. Brains are annoying. Would you care to kill off a few brain cells with some hard liquor?"

"Yes. Yes, I would."


	11. But I will never forget

"But I will never forget!"

Rinoa found herself taking an extra long sip of her too-strong punch. Her throat burned but she had to persevere - she was nowhere near drunk enough to deal with the situation unfolding within earshot.

She sputtered as the last dregs of her glass were emptied and it did not go unnoticed by her boyfriend who looked her way with a squint.

"…Is there something going on?"

Rinoa violently nodded before leaning forward to whisper-wheeze, _"Selphie is having a meltdown over there and I really don't have the energy to play mediator like I always end up doing."_

 _"Alright."_ he whispered back, the cogs in his head turning a bit. "… _Did you want to le-_ "

A loud clatter left the question hanging as the Tilmitt tornado edged closer. The moment Squall instinctively turned his head towards the source of the noise, Rinoa knew they were going to be sucked in.

"Irvine, why can't we be more like _them?_ "

Squall looked at the sorceress, trying his best to act as if he hadn't heard Selphie from across the room. In Rinoa's opinion, it was a wise move - no good ever came of telling Selphie 'it's not what it looks like' or trying to talk her down in the early stages of a meltdown.

She knew the pattern well - Selphie needed to have a clearly-defined moment of explosion that would become embarrassing in hindsight before she could start to see reason. And she just wasn't there - not yet anyway.

To her surprise however, he looked back at Selphie and even dared to start walking in her direction.

Oh no…no…no…

"Selphie."

Rinoa's guts felt like they were flash-frozen and lit on fire simultaneously. It only got worse when Selphie was caught off-guard by his presence in mid-cry-yelp about something unintelligible.

"Is there something going on?"

Selphie turned a violent shade of red.

"Ok, I must be really having a bad episode of you're trying to comfort me. Sorry about the noise - bye!"

When she darted off, Rinoa couldn't help but look at her boyfriend in awe. This didn't go unnoticed by him.

"For the record, I wasn't trying to use reverse psychology on her." he pointed out with a shrug. "Guess some things haven't changed."

"Squall, at this point, I honestly don't care if it was or wasn't on purpose. You're a wizard. And my hero."


	12. Who could do this?

"Who could do this?"

"I don't think it's so much a question of who, but when." Selphie pointed out, taking a long swig of her can of root beer. "There's a running joke among SeeDs about Squall's dorm being available to anyone while he's not in it."

Rinoa's right eye twitched a little. "Do I dare ask why?"

"It's not that exciting though it's another running joke, actually." she began, taking another swig. "Squall hates paperwork. And for whatever reason, his SeeD dorm's card reader was programmed wrong when he got it so anyone with a swipe card can get in. When I teased him about it the one time, he said he had a locking cabinet and nightstand for valuable stuff."

"Yeah, that sounds like him." the sorceress conceded with a shrug. "I'd be willing to bet his destroyed bomber jacket in the wardrobe too so I guess I just need to hire someone who can get in and out before he notices."

"Basically."

"So do you have any recommendations for the job?"

"You're looking right at her, Rin. I'm the safest bet you'll have." she said with a smile. "Squall's used to me barging in his room. In fact, I could probably get his coat while he was in his room, even."

"Um…don't go that far. I don't want a scene." she said. "Come to think of it, I don't even need the actual jacket with me for the person I'm getting to recreate it. I just need you to take a few reference pictures and take the measurements of a few things. Is that doable?"

"Oh yeah. That'll take me what? 5 minutes tops, give or take some problems with a lock." she assured.

"Cool. Cool. How much will I owe you?"

Selphie waved her off. "I don't want a thing. Squall's going to be so happy that you're getting a new one made after that T-Rexaur went to town on the original one in a freak dino accident. Once you tell him that I helped, I'm gonna get so much festival funding. It'll be great."

Rinoa smiled and nodded. She had a bit of time to figure out a white lie about her involvement, after all.


	13. Try harder, next time

"Try harder, next time."

"…Selphie, this isn't something you can _'try harder'_ at." Squall answered, his annoyance freely bleeding into his tone. "You can do it or you can't. And I can't."

Selphie gave him an incredulous look.

"Doesn't matter if you can't do it, you _have_ to do it. Failure isn't an option when you lost a bet. Trust me, the consequences are a bajillion times worse when you don't keep your end of the bargain." she reminded him. "Let's just take a few steps back here and troubleshoot your problems."

"Not sure how you can troubleshoot around the fact this costume was made for someone your size." he said, brandishing the hot pink chocobo body suit for effect. The monstrosity looked like it was diseased with excess glitter.

"You still can Squall. You just have to find some loopholes to work with." she advised. "How do you think i get so much done for the Festival on a shoestring budget every year?"

"Blackmail?"

"Eh, I try not to resort to that if I can help it. Something always seems to blow up in my face - it's super annoying, really. I have so much dirt I can't use." she admitted. "Anyway, my main go-to weapon of choice is appealing to people's caveman instincts to see people do dumb and/or embarrassing things."

"…And that works?"

"Oh yeah - like a charm!" she exclaimed. "I basically tell them I'll do something stupid for them in exchange for some help with the festival. And I make a point to get it in writing to make it seem like I'm making sure I can't chicken out of my end of the bargain. In reality, it's actually how I get to chicken out of it because people don't go super-specific when they write down what I have to do and that leaves all the loopholes ripe for the picking. Ha-ha!"

"That's a good point." he conceded. "…If memory serves, they said I had to wear it. They never said how to wear it."

"Exactly, Squall. Exactly."

It was almost strange to see Selphie's machinations being used for his benefit, but he wasn't going to look a gift hot pink chocobo in the mouth. This was a game changer for sure.


	14. Some people call this wisdom

"Some people call this wisdom." Zell mentioned, leafing through a few pages. "Not sure what the hype is about though. Half these chapters are filled with buzz words and slogans that multiply like bunnies."

"And I'll call it what it is - it's the kind of try-hard, bland nonsense masquerading as inspiration that old people stick as a caption on top of a picture of a sunset. I don't know why people read this other than to pretend like they know what this hack is saying to get a free pass to be a smug asshole."

"…Whoa, Rin. I don't think I've ever heard you swear like that." Zell said with a nervous laugh, setting the book back on the library shelf before it caught fire. "Not going to lie, you sounded like Xu there. I'm a little shocked."

The sorceress rubbed her temples. "I'm sorry Zell…I just get a little worked up about this 'author.' She..really rubs me the wrong way."

"Naw, don't worry Rin, I don't take it personally. We all have those things that set us off and it doesn't make a lick of sense."

"I'm curious now. What's yours?"

Zell grimaced. "It's a long story, actually."

"I have time."

"Yeah, but do you like have about 4 hours?"

"I do actually."

The martial artist cocked his head. "…you're like the first person who's didn't say no to that. Anyway, I don't actually need 4 hours, it's just, uh, kind of embarrassing."

"It's probably not as embarrassing as you think, Zell. You can tell me."

"Ok, I trust you." Zell paused for a moment, looking around to see if anyone else was around the corner of the library they were in. "I really hate time travel stories where the main character gets sent to their future and the story makes it seem like they got a happy ending after the main plot thing is done. Dude, wouldn't you be freaking out if you lost out on years of your life because of hocus pocus? It's annoying that main characters who get affected by that never brings it up."

Rinoa blinked. "This isn't embarrassing at all. I totally agree with you."

"I know right? It's so dumb."

"The dumbest."


	15. I thought you had forgotten

"I thought you had forgotten."

Rinoa's heart sunk to her stomach even though the words weren't spoken with an intent to guilt - the playful lilt to the words suggested the opposite, really.

"I would never ever ever forget, Squall." she assured as she set down the small cake right in front of him at the table. "The bakery on the other hand…not so much. It took a little while to track down another shop who could do a custom cake order on short notice."

"…So it wasn't a piece of cake?"

Rinoa openly groaned.

"You only get a free pass for that terrible joke because it's today."

"Not sure why I get a free pass when I never joke."

"Ok, I'll take that free pass then." she said, miming the action of pocking a slip of paper. "What did the Commander do on his special day?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, what did he do?"

"From the looks of it, he'll be waiting for a punchline because I wasn't telling a joke."

Squall shook his head, much to Rinoa's delight. "…I walked right into that one."

"Yes. Yes you did." she gloated. "I'll go get us some cutlery and plates so you don't need to gum up your gunblade trying to cut the cake."

"…Extremely-dry jokes aside, thank you for the birthday cake." he thanked her in the quietest of tones. "You didn't have to do all that for me."

Her sunken stomach now had butterflies and they were the good kind. While he was never going to be one for big parties, his growth over the years - from flat-out rejecting the idea that he even had a date of birth to letting her quietly celebrating his birthday with him - almost made her misty-eyed.


	16. This is gonna be so much fun!

"This is gonna be so much fun!"

"I think so too."

Selphie blinked. "Wait, what? Did I just hear you actually agree with me, Squall?"

"…. _.Yeah?_ "

"Ok, now you're just messing with me. Can you not?"

"…If you're going to get upset regardless if I agree or disagree, why bother fishing for a reaction from me?" Squall pointed out. Normally he wouldn't have bothered but tonight he was annoyed enough to throw caution to the wind.

"Ouch. Ok, so maybe I was being a teeny bit unfair." Selphie admitted. "Honestly, I'm just not used to you actually admitting you are going to have fun at something."

He tossed her a level look. "…It's a Triple Triad convention. You've literally made fun of me for how often I'd play at…less-than-ideal times. Why are you surprised?"

"If I'm being honest again, I thought you only played to get cards for the Card Mod refining." she admitted. "Now that I think about it though…yeah, you didn't really refine cards all that much. Do you have a gambling problem?"

Squall facepalmed so hard the Random rule took over the region.


	17. I'll tell you but you're not gonna

"I'll tell you but you're not gonna like it."

Squall tossed her a level look. "…To be fair, it wasn't like I was expecting good news to come out from reoccurring incidents that keep on sending cadets to the infirmary."

Selphie wrinkled her nose. "Fair point but, uhhhhh…the reason is kinda super weird and I feel like you should sit down because I'm betting that you'll be equal parts confused and angry."

Not wanting to fight her, the Commander sat himself at his desk chair, leaning back a little.

"Go ahead."

While the door was already closed in his office, Selphie looked around rather furtively, as if she was looking for signs of bugs. Even weirder was that she made a point to slowly approach his desk, not stopping at the foot of it, but rather went up to his chair directly.

"So…there is no assailant. The reason why we're ending up with so many bodies in the infirmary is because there's a dangerous challenge going around among the cadets."

"…And that is?"

"This is the ridiculous part." she admitted, poking her two index fingers together. "The challenge is to put a top hat on a T-Rexaur and take a photo of it as proof. I found out by pure luck when I saw a thread on the Garden forums called _'Top Hat T-Rexaur'_ and I got super curious."

Squall let out a long sigh. "…As much as I'd like to say I'm confused or mad, this doesn't surprise me." he told her. "Can you delete the post?"

"Squall, that's the fastest way to get them to do it more." Selphie pointed out. "But, what I was thinking of doing was supergluing trilby hats on all the T-Rexaurs so they'll be discouraged that way. Nothing makes things uncool faster than your older peers trying to join in and getting all the details wrong."


	18. You should have seen it

"You should have seen it."

"No, I'm perfectly fine with not seeing it, _thank you very much._ "

"Ehh, Zell, you're a bit too much of a goody two shoes sometimes. Has anyone ever told you that?"

The martial artist gave the cowboy a hearty shrug. "You say that like not being a peeping tom is a bad thing." he protested. "Seriously dude, did they teach you any manners in G-Garden or did they basically encourage you to oogle everything with two legs and a pulse?"

"First, it's ogle, not oo-gle." Irvine corrected. "Secondly, manners were part and parcel with training - unnecessary heaps of protocol is military bread and butter. Third, I'm just razzing you because I can."

"Well, can you just _not_?"

"'Fraid I can't. It seems like I hit on a nerve so my curiosity needs to be sated. Have you ever _been_ with a woman?"

Zell blinked. "What kind of question is that? Of course I have!"

"… _Really?_ "

"Girls are like fifty percent of the population, Kinneas. It's bound to happen. Well, maybe most girls avoid you like the plague but I've been with many women for get togethers, one-on-one training with them or even just random hangouts wherever. And I suppose hanging around the house with Ma counts too."

It took everything Irvine had not to internally implode with laughter.


	19. Oh please, like this is the worst

"Oh please, like this is the worst I have done."

Rinoa scrunched her nose. "That's a low, low, low bar Seifer." she pointed out. "Seriously, for someone who is trying to make amends, getting Squall super drunk was is not the way to do it."

"It's not the end of the world. I knew what he's like drunk from way back so I figured it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, I heard it through the grapevine that some crazy shit's on the horizon. Figured he could use a vacation day from his brain."

"…How is it that you know what he's like drunk? Didn't you have that whole…frenemy thing going on as cadets?" Rinoa said, eying him intently.

"That's exactly why I know what kind of drunk he is." Seifer pointed out. "For as stupidly straight-laced as Squally-boy is, his pride's his undoing. You challenge him to anything and all bets are off. So when 17-year old Seifer got a hold of a jug of cheap vodka, he thought he'd put that knowledge to work. It was hilarious as hell so it was totally worth it even if he downed more than I did."

Before it properly registered, Rinoa felt a hand on her right shoulder.

"You're conveniently forgetting the part where you told me we had to finish it because you'd plant it in my dorm if I didn't help you drink it." Squall argued, now right beside her.

As he spoke, the words sounded sober and reasonable but from her vantage point, she could smell the alcohol on his breath as clear as day; Rinoa truly didn't understand how he more-or-less ninja'd his way beside her. Had their situations been reversed, she would have giggled and stumbled all the way here.

"Tom-ay-to, tom-ah-to." Seifer flippantly replied with a shrug. "My work here is done."

While tempted to, Squall didn't have the energy to chase after him when he walked away. He opted to catch Rinoa's gaze instead.

"…He didn't even do anything." he joked in a stage whisper.

"Technically…goading you counts as something." Rinoa playfully disagreed. "How drunk are you now, by the way?"

"Very."

Rinoa reached up with her right hand to cover his left. "I figured since you're being touchy-feely. Or using me as a crutch. I'm not sure which."

"Those options aren't mutually-exclusive."

"Touché, Mr. Smarty Pants."

"My hand was already touching you though."

"Oh my god. You are the worst. Please tell me you acted the exact same way when Seifer got you drunk as a teenager."

He tilted his head slightly in contemplation for a brief moment.

"Unfortunately, I can't. Didn't drink nearly as much as Seifer thought I did. Most of it went in a potted plant when he wasn't looking. Figured it'd get him off my back about wanting to see what kind of drunk I was if I made him believe there wasn't much difference."

Rinoa laughed. "Why am I not surprised you used subterfuge on him?"


	20. I hope you have a speech prepared

"I hope you have a speech prepared."

Squall raised a brow. "…Why would I?"

Quistis pushed the bridge of her glasses back so they rested at the top of her nose once more. "Because this is the first rematch since you've uncovered my identity as the Master King of the CC Group."

"…And that needs a speech, why?"

"To make the stakes that much more dramatic."

"…Wouldn't you be the one making the speech because you lost to me?"

The blonde tossed him a level look. "…I'm just going to pretend you were being intentionally antagonistic with that comment to fit the narrative I've built up in my head."


	21. Impressive, truly

"Impressive, truly."

While it was tempting to just pretend a ghost was haunting her and pay him no mind, the skin on the back of Selphie Tilmitt's neck was bristling for an entirely different reason - rage.

"I don't know who you are, but you need to not stick a knife in it, ok?" she warned, jabbing paintbrush dipped in red paint for emphasis, "I know the last few events have been a little ho-hum, but I'm trying my best with the budget I have."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa - I think there's a T-Rexaur-sized misunderstanding here." the man explained, fiddling with his horn-rimmed glasses. "I wasn't being sarcastic at all - I think your work with the festival is really impressive. Especially when I've heard so many stories through the grapevine about your busy schedule as a SeeD and the shoestring budgets. I'm genuinely in awe since it was my dream for the Garden Festival Committee to thrive when I couldn't do it by myself when I was here."

Selphie dropped her paintbrush and didn't give a damn that her shoes now looked like she'd curb stomped someone in cold blood.

"Oh. My. God. You're _THE_ Wimbly Donner."

The man smiled. "The one and only."

"I'm so so so sorry that I was mean. I only heard stories about you and saw your messageboard post. I didn't know what you looked like." Selphie apologized, barely sparing a second to breathe. "Do you have some time in your schedule to go talk shop? I really want to talk shop with you."

"I'd love to but I have to ask - why is there a cowboy behind you giving me a double thumbs up?"

Selphie quickly glanced back and snickered a little bit. "Oh, that's Irvy. He's probably all for the idea of us talking shop so it'll give his ears a break. He's a great helper but he doesn't have the passion like we do. I'm working on that though."

"He had his thumbs still up until your last sentence." Wimbly remarked. "I know all about that life, unfortunately. Come with me, we need to compare notes immediately."


	22. I know how you love to play games

"I know how you love to play games."

"I only play Triple Triad." Squall contested. "…Why are you wording it like that?"

"Because," Rinoa prefaced, "it's funnier this way."

"Do I dare ask what's funnier _this_ way?"

"To be quite honest Squall, I couldn't come up with a strong lead-in to what I'm going to say because…there's no good way to tell you this. And before you ask, it's just an awkward and maybe funny kind of thing? Nothing serious at any rate."

"…Good to know."

Rinoa let out a nervous giggle and grabbed both of his hands, before making a point to look him square in the eyes.

"I…accidentally volunteered us for a game. Problem is, it wasn't the game I thought it was. I guess there's a game with the same name but it's really different from the one I grew up with in Deling City."

"So, why can't you just back out if it's making you this uncomfortable?"

"Because it's for charity and it's going towards a cause I really support."

"Fair enough. What's the game?"

"Don't Wake Daddy. In Deling City, it was a child's board game with a plastic spring-loaded gizmo shaped like a dad in bed in the middle. You basically moved around the board and if you got to a square with a number on it, you pressed the alarm button on the gizmo that many times and if he popped up, you had to go back to square one."

Judging by her increasingly-reddening face and a short mental list of what would get her so red in relation to having to break the news to him in particular, Squall knew they were likely dealing with some kind of sex-oriented adult game since he was completely fine with gore.

With that knowledge, he gave her hands a reassuring squeeze.

"We'll get through this, Rinoa. I'll teach you everything I know about dodging personal questions in the most infuriating way."

Rinoa's face somehow got redder for a moment before losing some colour.

"I appreciate that, I really do. But it's not that kind of game."

Squall blinked. "…What kind of game is it?"

"It's a game where we're put in a dark room in pairs and we can't turn the light on. We have to find a designated toy and go back in the bed before the timer runs out. My understanding is that there's a mechanism in the toy that only stops the timer when it's placed against a specific gizmo on the bed."

"Sounds straight forward, what's the catch?"

"Normally, that'd be it but, um, since it's for charity there's extra flair for _fun_. We both have to wear some awkward clothes so if we fail or try to cheat, the lights go on and the room is set up to take panoramic pictures until we find the toy and put it on the reader. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other _surprises_ too."

Squall suddenly understood her apprehension, given how many times she tripped or bumped into things in the late hours of the night where the lights were low or outright absent.

They were doomed and there was no ifs, ands or buts about it.


	23. This is not new, it only feels like it

"This is not new, it only feels like it." Selphie explained. "When I unjunctioned everything last year, sometimes memories would feel super-surreal so it took awhile to get enough evidence that it was a thing that actually happened. Overall, my brain got better in really lopsided and random ways before everything finally evened out. Of course, I was junctioned for a long time but the GF wasn't as powerful so I don't know if it'll be the same for you."

"It's good to know anyway." Quistis quietly told her. "Did you find that there was any patterns to the memories coming back?"

"Yes and no. The best way I can put it is that your brain's muscle memory for making memories is so out of shape for the first little while that it sticks to easy things. A lot of what I remembered fastest was when I was doing things that jogged my memory. Some things came out of nowhere though and hit me like a train."

Her last comment made Quistis's stomach sink. It was the very thing that made her put off GF unjunctioning and it was worrisome that everyone who'd gone through the process had all mentioned something to that effect. And if someone who hadn't junctioned strong GFs for the most part was not immune to the runaway train of memories, it made the prospect even more daunting.

"Selphie, I have one last question."

"Yes, Quisty?"

"Was there anything you wish you'd known before you started completely unjunctioning?"

"Hm…" Selphie placed a thumb to the corner of her mouth in thoughtful contemplation. "I guess I wish I'd known about how much it'll makes you wonder about what you would have done differently if the GF fog didn't nom your memories and poop them out as gut reactions. Like, I thought I'd just learn things and it wouldn't change my life that much unlike someone like, say, Squall who's obviously a buffet of repressed feels but hoo boy, was I wrong."

"So…did you regret it?"

Selphie shook her head. "Nah, the past is the past. I can't change it but now I'll know better for next time. I think you'll be fine Quisty. You're stronger than you think you are. Plus, knowledge is power and you're a super nerd who studies for fun. You got this."

While she would have normally balked at Selphie's tactless phrasing, Quistis chose to find refuge in it this time. If Selphie unabashedly thought she _'had this,'_ perhaps there was a kernel of truth in that.

Nevertheless, it would be something she'd remember.


	24. You knows this, you know this to be true

"You knows this, you know this to be true."

"I _knows_ this?" Raine parroted, setting down the mug she'd just dried, "Good lord, Laguna. I thought journalists were supposed to have a solid grasp on language."

"So you tell me every time I open my mouth." Laguna joshed in sing song tone. "For all intensive purposes though, I write better than I talk. Which might not be sayin' much but…hey, why is your face looking all twitchy?"

"Because it's _all intents and purposes_. Not intensive purposes." she pointed out, wringing her dirty rag a little more tightly than necessary. "And something tells me you weren't trying to be cute with that one."

"I don't have to try to be cute when I _am_ cute." he playfully retorted, leaning in so his head was mere inches away from hers with his elbows on the counter top. "Elle tells me so—"

It was practically moot point that Raine had thrown the dish towel at his face when the gut punch to his stomach after the slip up was enough to shut him up.

Things haven't been the same since Elle was abducted and her absence was keenly felt even more with each passing day.

"I'm sorry Raine, I wasn't thinking–"

Raine shook her head. "No, it's fine. I just…overreacted."

The unshed tears in the corner of her eyes told another story, however.

Laguna wanted to playfully argue about his terrible language skills with Raine. He wanted to make even more terrible jokes to make her smile. He wanted to do so much but it was becoming painfully obvious that none of that levity would stick unless if their family whole again. Unless _he_ made it whole again.

"Raine…?"

"Hm?"

"Call me crazy but…how would you feel if I went on a search for Ellone?"

There was a pregnant pause.

"I think…I'd call myself crazy to think I could change your mind once you've made it up, Laguna."


	25. Go forward, do not stray

"Go forward, do not stray." Rinoa announced, pointing off to the far distance for comedic effect. Squall was less than amused.

"…You say that as if I'll get distracted by shiny things."

"No, that's the problem." she lovingly retorted. "You don't get distracted by shiny things and we have to attend Selphie's party wearing something shiny because of that oddly-specific throwback theme. You'll get distracted by the _'this is too stupid, I'm out.'_ "

"If you're that worried I won't stay on task…then why aren't you going with me?"

"One, you're not a baby. You'll do fine so long as you frame it like a mission to appease one Selphie Tilmitt who'll get very irritated if we don't put in some effort." Rinoa said, raising her index before adding the middle finger shortly after. "Two, I'm curious to see what you pick without me there."

Squall raised a brow. "Why?"

"Because for all the jabs people say about you only wearing black, white and occasionally dark grey or navy, you pick interesting stuff to put together."

"It was more out of necessity than creativity. Before making SeeD, I had a very small stipend for incidentals as a ward." he explained. "I was at the mercy of secondhand stores."

"Yeah, but you still picked your clothes out from all the other things that were in there. Don't sell yourself short - there is some creativity in the art of making do."


	26. But if you cannot see it

"But if you cannot see it, is it _really_ there?"

Before Zell had a chance to say anything, he found himself carried away by the scruff of his collar by a strong hand. The assailant dragged him two steps back before the martial artist broke free and started swinging.

Fortunately for Irvine, Zell had pretty good motor control so he didn't end up with a rearranged face.

"Dude, what is the big deal?!" Zell stage whispered, dropping his fists to flail his open palms around. "I was just listening to S-"

"-That's exactly the deal." Irvine replied back in a hushed tone, wrapping around a hand over his shoulders so they began to walk and talk. "It looks like Selphie but I'm 100% sure it's the doppelganger she pays when she needs stall for time."

Zell's eyebrows more-or-less disappeared into his hairline. "That's…a sentence."

"It is." the cowboy admitted. "The long and short of it is that the doppelganger's m.o. is to ask very odd questions to trap you into either arguing or wondering if Selphie was tripping on acid. It usually buys her a good 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the doppelganger's game that day."

"…Why pay a doppelganger to literally buy that little time? I don't get it."

"The inner machinations of my dear girlfriend's mind are sometimes a mystery to even myself." Irvine dramatically lamented. "If I had to guess, I'd say she's a long lost twin and Selphie doesn't know how to handle such a revelation that she pays this girl to do something completely pointless as an excuse to keep in touch."

"Why would you guess _that?_ "

"Because none of this makes a lick of sense, so why start with anything logical?"


	27. Remember, you have to remember

"Remember, you have to remember."

"…Quistis, you're not telling me what to remember."

"I was getting to that part, actually." the former instructor wryly added. "I just find if you tell people to remember to remember without saying what it was to remember, it sticks in people's memory better because they have to ask what first."

"Like an aural version of remembering things because you wrote it down, not because you're reading the note?"

"Something like that, yes. Truth be told, I'm not sure why I'm using that trick on you because I know you have a pretty good memory."

Squall shrugged. "Doesn't hurt. Knowing something basic about how to get from Timber to Galbadia Garden or what Garden Code, Article 8, line 7 was five years ago doesn't necessarily mean I can remember everything."

A lull of silence permeated the room as Quistis blankly looked at him.

"…If I didn't also know about your extremely-dry sense of humour, I'd call you a show off."


	28. I felt it

_"I felt it. You know what I mean."_

And this been under different circumstances, Squall would have pointed out that they were alone in his quarters and the walls were thick enough that the risk of being heard was very low.

But right here, right now, he thought it was cute that Rinoa had decided to whisper this in his ear as she was lying flush on top of him like he was a body pillow.

"I do. Never thought the day would come though."

Her face might have been largely buried in his neck but he felt the daggers all the same.

"I seriously thought you were lying about that rogue bed spring. If it were anyone but you, I'd wonder how anyone slept at night because that kept jamming up my ribcage like ow."


	29. At least it can't get any worse

"At least it can't get any worse."

"Zell! Do **not** say something like that. That always makes something worse!" Selphie shrieked. "You're practically hand delivering an invitation to the universe to prove you wrong when you think that out loud."

"Eh, I'd beg to differ. The power of positive thinking goes a long way." the blond disagreed. "And besides, if the universe _was_ listening, just thinking about it would probably be enough to dare it to do its worst if it was that powerful."

"…Oh. My. God. Why did you say that out loud? Never mind the universe, _you_ made it worse!"

At this point, Zell was inclined to agree.


	30. Do we really have to do this again?

"Do we really have to do this again?"

"We do. The infraction notice for having unauthorized co-ed occupants said we had to attend an educational sex-ed seminar before the 7th. The dates are different so it's a new one."

"And you being commander…didn't give you any kind of special exemptions? Like, at all?"

Squall shook his head. "SeeD doesn't operate like that. Me being commander probably makes our case even worse. Leading by example and all that. Can't pull the same things I used to get away with as a cadet - especially after the rules overhaul from last year when Cid left."

Rinoa pinched the bridge of her nose with her left hand. "I don't understand how a place with an actual Not-So Secret Area has any grounds to actually crack down on these new dorm rules without seeming like giant hypocrites."

"…To be fair, there isn't a lot of privacy in the Secret Area and the ground is paved stone and concrete. It's only going to appeal to the people who are ok with having an audience while they make out in an upright position."

The sorceress moved her hand away from her face to hook a thumb around her necklace's rings.

"If we're stuck in this vicious cycle, did you want to have a little fun?"

"Might as well since the assumption that we had fun is the reason we're in trouble." Squall deadpanned. "What did you have in mind?"

"Excellent. I was thinking if you got your old ring back and I wore my mother's, we can pretend to be newly married so it'll make the sex-ed seminar very awkward. Maybe they'll stop sending us to it then."

"That's trading one problem for another and you know it."

"I know, I know, giving people the wrong idea and this and that." she conceded, unhooking her thumb from the rings. "Have any alternative solutions for fun?"

Squall shook his head. "I don't have an alternative for a fun solution but the practical solution would be to move out of SeeD dorms altogether."

"Yeah, you might be right. It feels like Garden life really took an even sharper turn for the solitary hardened soldier life when Cid left. It's not really compatible for people with any kind of attachments."

Squall paused for a few seconds.

"…I'd be lying if I hadn't noticed the shift myself." he admitted. "And it scares me sometimes."


	31. I've waited so long for this

"I've waited so long for this."

"Oooh, must be something really good if you're literally drooling."

Rinoa reflexively wiped her mouth only to find no residual saliva on her sleeve.

"It is that good." she asserted to Selphie, taking her phone out of her pocket and taping her screen a few times to pull up the details to show her. "The second season of this mini series is going to start airing tonight."

"Ooooh. Now I see why. The main guy looks like Squall with a whip. I mean, if Squall could actually grow facial hair."

The sorceress's cheeks caught on fire. "T-that's not why I'm watching this, for the record."

"Rinny, there's no shame here. We've all watch things because some actor is hot. Then it becomes a bonus if the show is actually good. Is the main guy like Squall at all?"

Rinoa shook her head immediately. "No, not really. I mean, the guy has his Squall-like moments but overall, not really."

"So are watching this mostly because its fun to see someone look like Squall not act like Squall so you get your jollies just imagining him in an alternate universe?"

"Squall doppelgangers aside, it is a good show. But now that you mention it, I think…you might be onto something here."


End file.
